I bought a bottle of Poultry Drench from the local feed store and put a squirt or two of that in a quart of water. It adds vitamins and minerals and gives the chicks a boost. It's suppose to be a all natural supplement that acts quickly.
I respect snakes as one of God's creations and they have their place but when they take the attitude that they are going after one of my birds, IT"S ON!
I incubate year round and have never had a problem getting eggs. I don't know about the availability from BYC members per say as I am relatively new to this forum but other sources always seem to have eggs readily available.